Reopen your Heart
by Sonic Phantom
Summary: This was a date she had never expected to happen. But maybe this will be another chance for her to get into the dating scene again after her previous fallback.
1. The Promising Date

******REOPEN YOUR HEART**

Chapter One: The Promising Date

**- Station Square -**

Waiting for someone who you are going on a date with is always going to be nervous. And that's especially true for Zoey Hanson. She had been waiting outside the train station for her date since arriving at Station Square. She was waiting for him here because her date told her the time and place of when he would arrive to meet her.

Zoey checked the clock that was nearby the train station to see that it was almost 11:00 A.M. She checked it because it was around that time when her date would show up.

"He should show up by now." Zoey said, after checking the time.

"Hey there!" A voice greeted.

Zoey turned to see that the voice came from. It was from this blue hedgehog that was standing next to her with a grin on his face.

"Oh! Hi, Sonic!" Zoey greeted back by waving at him. "You came by fast!"

"Well, they don't call me the fastest thing alive for nothing!" Sonic remarked. The blue hedgehog took a good look at Zoey. "You look really good!"

Zoey blushed at his comment. Her red hair was into two small pigtails with two green bows tied to her head. She was wearing her small red necklace with the bell attached to it, a yellow shirt along with a blue vest around it, blue shorts, and white sandals. "Uh...thanks! I was hoping to wear something nice since it's almost summer and all!"

Sonic gave a thumbs up to her. "It's always important to look nice."

Zoey nodded. "So where do you want to go?"

"Well, I was thinking we could spend the day over at Twinkle Park." Sonic suggested wit hhis thumb jabbing towards the entrance which wasn't too far away.

"Hey! You mentioned that when we first talked about our date plans." Zoey said with bright brilliance. "Is it any good?"

"I think you'll like it. Come on." Sonic believed that Zoey will be surprised to see Twinkle Park for the first time. The two rushed over towards the entrance which had with a ticket booth that was run by a woman.

"Is it just the two of you?"

"Uh-huh. That's us!" Zoey looking very positive and cheery by making a peace sign with her fingers.

The young woman looked at the red-headed human teenager and the blue hedgehog. "Oh, you look cute together!"

Sonic blushed with embarassment. "Uh...we're not dating in that way-"

"And as our special rule, cute couples get in free!"

Zoey's eyes gleamed in excitement. "Oh, this is awesome! We get in free!"

Before the blue hedgehog could get through to the ticket woman, Zoey grabbed Sonic's gloved hand and both went inside together. Feeling Zoey's silky hand around Sonic almost made him nervous. But when Zoey's hand gripped Sonic's own, it made the hedgehog feel more relaxed and comfortable. Almost like he had nothing to be nervous about.

* * *

"So what do you think, Zoey? You like what you see?" Sonic asked a flabbergasted Zoey Hanson.

The feeling of seeing Twinkle Park was a sight to behold for Zoey Hanson. To actually see and experience it for the first time, was going to be very exiting for her.

"This...looks so awesome!" Zoey said, very excited. "I've never seen anything like this in my life!"

Sonic was glad to see Zoey already fascinated by this place. And the fact that the two were going to share this experience together was going to be fun.

Once Zoey got a chance to catch her breath, she turned to her date. "Since you know the place better than I do, why don't you pick what we should do first."

"OK." Sonic nodded. "How about we ride the roller coaster?"

Zoey's eyes went from excited to almost very nervous when Sonic mentioned the roller caster. "Uh...the roller coaster?"

"Uh-huh. Let's go check it out! You'll love it!"

Zoey quickly looked around the park. "Uh, look!" She pointed at the booth. "There's the gondola ride over there!"

But just as she spoke it out, Sonic was already over at the roller coaster entrance in a second. "Come on, Zoey! You're not scared of a roller coaster, are you?"

"No! No!" Zoey shook her head quickly. "I-ain't-scared-of-no-roller-coaster-why-would-I-be-scared-of-a-roller-coaster-that's-just-silly-talk!" She ended with a very fake and nervous laugh. She gulped, as she quickly power walked her way over to where Sonic was at.

"Two please."

The ticket lady let them on as the two got in a seat together. The metal bars locked themselves in place to secure the two for safety purposes. Sonic couldn't wait for the coaster to start. Zoey was still feeling really nervous.

"Um, this isn't going to make me dizzy, is it?" Zoey asked lightly.

"No way." Sonic grinned. "It's going to be awesome."

The roller coaster started to move slowly, almost making Zoey's stomach jump. She gripped the steel bars tightly in anticipation and nervousness. It started to move faster and faster.

_ZOOM!_

The roller coaster blasted off into it's fastest speed, riding around the top of the bell tower to zooming downhill. Sonic had his hands in the air and was having the time of his life.

"This is great!" Sonic laughed as the roller coaster zoomed above the gondola ride. "Check it out, Zoey! No hands!"

Zoey was still focusing her energy of just trying to hold on to the metal bars. "I'm still scared to let go, Sonic!"

"Don't worry about it! Just let your hands free and scream as loud as you can! And let the wind flow right through you!" Sonic told her, as he was enjoying himself immensely.

Zoey wasn't sure about Sonic's words, but she slowly let go her hands off of the bars as the roller coaster started to move slowly upwards. Zoey gulped, knowing what was coming up. The roller coaster made it's way to the top and, for a moment, it looked as if it had stopped.

"Uh...why did we stop?" Zoey was confused. "Is the ride broken?" Thinking about that thought, that would be a VERY bad thing.

The roller coaster started to move again, catching Zoey off guard. She was about to hold on to the metal bars again, but she then remembered Sonic's words.

Just let your hands free and scream as loud as you can. Zoey took a deep breath and let out a sigh of air. She then smirked. "Bring it on."

The moment came when the roller coaster started to move downards at a very fast pace. Zoey let her hands free and her excitement let loose.

"WAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Zoey yelled out in excitement. The nervousness she had before was now replaced with joy and fun as the roller coaster started to zip, zoom and managed to do a loop-de-loop in one area before going forward, and then downhill and then up again. The twists and turns this roller coaster had was only making Zoey and Sonic enjoy the ride even more.

Soon, it all started to slow down again as it returned to the entrance of where it first started. The metal bars rose as Sonic and Zoey got out of their seats and back at the park.

"That was fun!" Sonic chuckled. "So, did you like the roller coaster?"

Zoey stood in place for a moment before smiliing. "Like it? I loved it!"

Sonic was happy to hear this. "So I guess my advice paid off."

"Yep! Just let your hands free and yell as loud as you can." Zoey stated with a wide grin. "Wanna go again?"

"Really? Are you sure?" Sonic asked.

"Uh-huh. You're not scared, are you?" Zoey teased him.

Her words made him chuckle again when it reminded him of how he asked her that question. "Not a chance! Let's head to the back of the line."

Zoey nodded as she followed Sonic to the back of the line, getting ready for another ride for the roller coaster.

* * *

The two decided to have a break after riding the roller coaster 3 times. They sat down at a nearby bench where the food court was nearby.

"Wanna get something to snack on?" Sonic asked his date.

"Oh yeah..." Zoey was almost tired out after having to ride the roller coaster 3 times. "I think something to chow down will feel great. Perhaps I'll go for a hot dog and fries."

"Gotcha. Be right back." Sonic winked before dashing off to the food court.

Zoey relaxed for a little bit as she noticed a nearby couple enjoying their meal together. A young teenage boy and a young teenage girl were laughing and smiling as they chatted about their own date. Watching them made Zoey happy that she was on a date with Sonic. At first, she seemed a bit skeptical about it because this wasn't a date that she was really expecting, but the more time she is around with Sonic, Zoey started to feel more at home and happy that she was dating again.

Sonc dashed back at the bench with a bit of food and drinks.

Wow! That's a lot of stuff." Zoey was surprised. "What did you get?"

"Two chili dogs, fires, and sodas." Sonic answered, as he set the lunch down on the bench table.

"Chili dog?" Zoey wasn't sure how she felt about the chili dog sitting in front of her. "I don't know about this..."

"Give it a try. You might like it." Sonic encouraged her, as he took a bite out of his chili dog. "Mmm. Good stuff!"

The Mew Mew leader wasn't sure if she would like this or not, but then again, she was able to enjoy the roller coaster. So maybe she'll like the chili dog, too.

"Well, here goes nothing." Zoey said slowly as she picked up the chili dog and gave it a good bite. She took a moment to taste her chili dog before swallowing it. Her eyes started to light up. "Hey..." She took another bite. "Hey...this is really good." She ate another bite. "I really like this!"

"See? What did I tell ya? You never know until you try it." That was the golden rule of trying new things out. And a good lesson it is, too.

"Yeah." Zoey nodded, as she finished the rest of her chili dog.

The two talked while having their lunch. Sonic got to hear Zoey's adventures and life as a leader of the Mew Mews that seemed to grab his attention.

"So Corina, Bridget, Kikki, and Renee are the other members. They're my teammates and friends that help run Cafe Mew Mew."

"I remember meeting them. Sounds like you guys get along pretty well."

"Well, Corina, is sorta questionable. She's a good person and all, but her attitude just comes off as snobbish. She acts like if she's the queen of the cafe." And then she attempted to make an impression of Corina. _"I'm Ms. important Corina Buskworth. I'm just gonna sit back and drink my tea all day and watch Zoey as she does all the work because I'm Queen Corina and I do what's best for me! Tahahahaha!"_

Sonic was laughing at Zoey's impression of Corina. "That was pretty good."

"Thanks." Zoey giggled. "Always wanted to do that." She took a sip from her soda after making that impression of Corina.

Sonic hadn't laughed that much in a long time. He had heard a lot of funny stuff before, but this was some funny stuff he was hearing. "So is she always bossy towards you?"

"A lot of the times, yes. But as I said, she's a good person overall. Just when she's not her snobby self." Zoey mentioned. "Do you have any friends like that?"

"Well, the only person I can think of is Rouge. She's not really snobbish, she's just really into stuff when it comes to jewels." Sonic explained. "Though she's kinda abandoned that hobby and is currently working for G.U.N."

"Oh, I see." Zoey wondered what this Rouge character looked like. Maybe one day she would meet her.

The two soon finished their lunch and checked out the rest of the park to see what else Twinkle Park had in store for the two. It was pretty lively for the park, but that was to be expected. Everyone here was having a good time, and I think this was the perfect place for the Sonic and Zoey to have their date here. And they seem to be happy being together while enjoying the beautiful sights of Twinkle Park.

Zoey pointed out to a small booth that they were selling stuffed dolls over there. "What kind of dolls are they?"

"Those are Chao. They are actually based off the Chao that you only see in the Chao Garden." Sonic replied. "You want a stuffed Chao?"

Zoey had no clue what a Chao is, which kinda made her confused, but if this is what it looked liked based off the doll, then her eyes beamed with light. "Yes! Yes, of course, please."

"One stuffed Chao coming up!" Sonic went up to the woman behind the booth. "I'd like a stuffed Chao for the cute girl behind me."

"Sure thing." She smiled as she handed a stuffed Chao to Zoey as Sonic paid the woman.

"Keep the change." Sonic told her.

"Thank you so much." The woman seemed happy that Sonic gave her a tip.

"Not a problem." Sonic gave a thumbs up to her before leaving with Zoey and her newly bought stuffed Chao.

"Oh, this thing is really cute. And cuddly." Zoey said, as she hugged it. "Thank you, Sonic! I really love this stuffed Chao!"

"Glad you love it." Sonic felt happy knowing that Zoey really loved her stuffed Chao.

"You've been so nice and thoughtful, Sonic. Is there anything I can do to return for the wonderful gift?"

"Hmm..." Sonic thought about it for a moment. "No, not that I can think of."

"Really?" Zoey seemed curious about this. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. There's nothing much I can ask for except that I am happy to be hanging out with a wonderful girl like you."

Zoey blushed nervously and also smiled a little when Sonic said that. He seemed very sincere about it and it made her really feel special. But now that she thought about it, it kinda made her sad that Sonic didn't want anything in return. Maybe he was just a really nice guy who doesn't really expect much in return because he was the kind of hero that always liked to think of others first before himself. She wasn't sure, but it really made her want to get something for him.

Later in the day, they found a good spot in where they would take some picture together. First they would take a picture of each other seperately. Sonic made some goofy-looking faces which made Zoey laugh.

"Come on, Sonic! It's really difficult for me to get a shot when you're making those faces." Zoey said trying to stop herself from laughing.

"I can't help myself!" Sonic shrugged with a smirk.

Zoey was finally able to get some shots in which Sonic have a thumbs up pose and a grin. She really liked that shot. She would probably keep it in a picture frame.

It was Sonic's turn to take a photo of Zoey. Seeing Zoey's eyes and her smile made Sonic smile in return. He would remind himself to keep a picture of this shot.

* * *

Nighttime soon came as Sonic and Zoey exited Twinkle Park feeling exhausted after a long day.

"Man, today was great!" Sonic smiled widely. "So Zoey, did you have fun?"

Zoey almost yawned, but still managed to smile back. "Yeah, today was actually really fun. I enjoyed it a lot."

"Great! So, where are you planning on staying?" Sonic wondered.

"I ordered a room at the hotel. So I'm going to be staying there for tonight." Zoey said, pointing at it across from them.

"OK then. You want me to walk with you there?" Sonic asked.

"Sure. I would like that in case I start sleep walking." Zoey giggled.

Sonic chuckled back as he and Zoey started walking towards the hotel. On the way, Zoey slipped her hand into Sonic's gloved hand again. Sonic didn't seem as nervous as he was earlier when she did this, so he felt more relaxed as he gripped it gently while walking her to the hotel.

They got to the entrance as Zoey turned to face Sonic.

"I had a really great time today." Zoey said.

"Me too." Sonic smiled. "I enjoyed it a lot."

Zoey's face looked nervous. "Um...Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you...want to go out...on a second date?" Zoey asked slowly.

"Really? Are you serious?" Sonic wondered.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm serious. To be honest, I wasn't sure if this would turn out good or not. But since it did turn out good, maybe we could try this again?"

"Anything for you, Zoey." Sonic replied. "How about tomorrow at 10:30 in the morning?"

"OK. It's a date." Zoey noted.

"All right, then. Now go ahead and get some sleep. I'll catch ya tomorrow!" Sonic waved at her before speeding off.

"Bye..." Zoey waved back as Sonic disappeared from sight. A few seconds later, Zoey felt like she was going to burst into happiness. She went inside the hotel and into her room as she laid her back onto her bed and smiled happily at the day she experienced today.

Today was a great day. And tomorrow was going to be even better.


	2. Falling In and Out

******REOPEN YOUR HEART**

Chapter Two: Falling In and Out

**- Station Square -**

Coming off from a fantastic date yesterday, Zoey Hanson was ready to go on another date with Sonic. She was getting herself dress while examining herself in the mirror.

"Hmm...I wonder if this is any good?" Zoey asked herself. She was wearing a blue tank-top shirt, along a tan thin shorts and brown boots. She then pulled up a pink tank-top shirt next to her. "Or maybe this one? It does look cute."

Just then, the phone rang. Zoey went over to answer it as she picked up the phone and put it close to her ear.

"Hello?" Zoey answered.

_"Zoey, this is the hotel manager. Someone downstairs is waiting for you."_

Zoey had a pretty good idea of who it is, but just to be sure, she asked anyway. "Who is it?"

_"I believe it is Sonic. He just arrived here a minute ago."_

Zoey smiled. "OK! I'll be down in a minute." She then hanged up the phone. After hearing that her date was here, she had a little bit of goosebumps again. But she knew what she was getting into, so it was time to face it once again.

* * *

Sonic the Hedgehog had his back against the wall and his hands behind his head, waiting for his date to show up. He felt nervous on the inside, but he felt confident in knowing that he was going on another date with Zoey, and that he didn't let the nervousness get to him as much as it did last time.

The elevator door opened to reveal Zoey Hanson. She looked ahead to see Sonic waiting for her.

"Hey there, Zoey! How are you feeling today?" Sonic asked her date.

"I'm...feeling pretty good." Zoey smiled. "I feel like I'm ready to take on the world!"

Sonic whistled like he was impressed. "Excellent! Then I suppose you're ready to go at it again?"

"Mm-hm." She nodded. "I just hope you're ready as I am."

"Definitely." Sonic gave a thumbs up.

"So do you know where we could go today?" Zoey asked.

"Well, I was thinking it over, and I decided we could probably head over to Casinopolis or Emerald Coast." Sonic suggested.

"Hmm...both sounds good." Zoey admitted. "Let's try Casinopolis first. I want to see what that's like."

"OK then. Let's roll!" Sonic said, as he and his date left the hotel and onto Casinopolis.

The two walked together on the sidewalk as they made their way towards Casinopolis. Along the way, Zoey wondered about what Casinopolis would be like.

"Hey Sonic? What's Casinopolis like?" She asked.

Sonic heard her question. "Oh. Well...I haven't been there all that much, but it's a lot like Casino Night Zone. It's a pretty fun place where there's lots of games to play and golden rings to win there."

Zoey thought that sounded like fun. Maybe she could win some golden rings herself? Zoey had eyes of gleam when she pictured this. Rings...how beautiful she would look if she got to wear one of those.

As they made their way there, Zoey seemed to remember something. "Oh, that's right!"

"Huh?" Sonic tilted his head. "What is it, Zoey?"

"I was going to call my friends back home this morning, but I completely forgot! Oh no, what do I do?" Zoey panicked.

"Don't worry, I'm sure there might be a phone booth nearby that you can use." Sonic pointed out.

"Really? Oh good. Maybe I can do that before we go to Casinopolis." Zoey said, as she looked around for a phone booth. She walked forward a little bit and turned to see a phone booth, much to her delight. "Found one!"

"That was quick." Sonic smiled, as he joined Zoey while she went over to the phone booth and started dialing.

"Could you wait a few minutes, Sonic? I'm going to make a call to my friends back at Cafe Mew Mew." Zoey told him.

"Sure thing. Take as much time as you need. The day is still young." Sonic replied, as he laid his back against the wall and relaxed himself.

Zoey smiled, as she finished dialing and waited for a response. A couple of moments passed.

_"This is Wesley of Cafe Mew Mew. How I may be of assistance?"_

Zoey recognized that voice. "Hey Wesley, it's Zoey!"

_"Zoey! It's good to hear your voice!"_

"Thanks! Yours too. Say, are any of my friends there? I would like to talk to them."

_"Sure! I'll put one of them on right now!"_

Zoey waited a moment before someone answered. "Hello? Bridget? Hey! How's it going? How's everything going on at Cafe Mew Mew?"

Speaking of Cafe Mew Mew, this brought Sonic back to the moment where he first met Zoey and how this date between the two came about.

* * *

**- Cafe Mew Mew; 2 weeks ago -**

Zoey was busy going back forth through different tables. While we could see Corina drinking her tea and relaxing while Zoey was doing all the work. Renee's job was to send in the orders from the customers. Kikki was in charge of the cash resgister while Bridget and Zoey would send the food out to the customers. Bridget was getting another order from another table, while Zoey worked on many of them at a time. But I think that was more of Corina's ordering her around of what she must be doing.

After finally going through most of the tables, Zoey stopped herself for a moment to take a break. "Wow, this is tiring work."

"I know what you mean." Bridget said, as she joined her. "But at least the bright side is that it gives us something to do."

"It would be a lot better if SOMEONE would not be sitting down drinking tea on the job!" Zoey said sarcastically, obviously talking about Corina.

"I'm on my afternoon break. And you know I never miss my afternoon tea." Corina casually noted as she sipped more of her tea.

Zoey growled angrily to herself at Corina's snobby attitude. Renee hardly noticed this.

"If I were you, I would suggest you welcome the new customers. They just arrived." Renee told her.

"Huh? Oh, right!" Zoey wasted not time and rushed towards the entrance doors.

Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles Tails Prower, Cream, and Cheese looked around at the sight of Cafe Mew Mew.

"This place looks really pretty!" Cream astounded by what she's seeing. "Don't you agree, Cheese?"

"Chao Chao!" Cheese agreed.

"It does look really nice. I also heard that Cafe Mew Mew has some of the best desert in this area." Tails said. "What do you think, Sonic?"

Sonic had to admit, the place did indeed look pretty good. He seemed a bit skeptical coming here at first, but the place turned out to be better than he expected.

Zoey arrived at the entrance to greet the 3 customers. "Welcome to Cafe Mew Mew! I am Zoey Hanson, and I will be your..." She then froze and stared at what she was seeing.

"Hey there!" Sonic waved. "Table for three, please."

The red haired teenager seemed to be at a loss for words. Bridget went to ask her something until she saw Zoey's frozen state. She then turned to see the new customers and was also surprised to see them as all.

"Um, is this girl all right?" Sonic asked the green haired girl.

She almost didn't see recognize them at first, until she fixed her glasses a bit first and then recognized the blue hedgehog. "Hey, you're Sonic the Hedgehog, aren't you?"

"The one and only." Sonic grinned. "And these are my friends over here."

"My name is Miles Prower. But everyone just calls me Tails." The young fox said with a smile.

"I'm Cream the Rabbit. And this is my Chao friend; Cheese."

"Chao Chao!" Cheese waved.

"Oh my! Hello!" Bridget seem very happy to see guests like these at Cafe Mew Mew. "My name is Bridget Verdant. And this is my assistant and friend, Zoey Hanson."

Zoey was still frozen at the sight of seeing these new guests.

"Zoey!"

Zoey snapped out of her frozen state. "Huh? Oh, hey Bridget."

"Zoey, aren't you going to welcome the new customers?" Bridget asked her.

"Uh...oh, right! Sorry about that." Zoey cleared herself before getting back on track. "Welcome to Cafe Mew Mew! I am Zoey Hanson, and I will be your waitress this afternoon."

"All right! Can you get a table for the three of us?" Sonic asked her.

"Sure! Right this way!" Zoey lead the way, while Sonic, Tails, Cream, and Cheese followed her to their table.

Maybe it was just her, but Bridget seemed to speculate why Zoey was standing still, frozen like a popsicle. She probably thought it was her reaction to seeing people that weren't human enter Cafe Mew Mew of all places. To which she could totally understand that. But not able to recognize a popular hero and star like Sonic the Hedgehog...maybe Zoey really had no clue to who he was? Again, it was all just a theory in her mind, but the possibility is definitely there.

What if...nah, she would probably have to wait until later. Right now, there was a restaurant to run and Bridget needed to get back to work by helping Zoey with the customers and stuff.

Zoey showed the three anthro creatures to their tables as they took their seats.

"OK, so do you guys want to order now or wait and look at the menus?" Zoey asked.

"What do you think, Cream? Do you want to wait a bit?" Tails asked her.

"I want to see what kind of desserts they have." Cream answered.

"I believe that's a yes." Sonic replied with a wink at Zoey.

"O-OK then." Zoey stuttered. "I'll be back in a moment when you're ready."

She quickly power walked back towards the restaurant counter, where Eliot, the manager, and Wesley, the caterer, were mostly at while the restaurant was opened.

"Aren't you guys the least bit concerned that there are three non-humans at the restaurant?" Zoey asked, almost trying not to act crazy.

"Well, you girls turn into heroes that resemble part of an animal characteristic, so I don't see any difference there." Eliot said with his arms crossed.

"That's not the same!" Zoey fired back, while wailing her arms up and down like crazy.

"But Zoey, have you have not heard about Sonic the Hedgehog?" Wesley wondered.

"What? You mean that blue hedgehog?" Zoey asked. "In fact, Bridget brought his name up too. Is he famous or something?"

"Of course he is!" Kikki popped in with a huge smile. "He is a big hero who has saved the world many times from catastrophic events!"

"Really? If he is a big hero, then how come I've never heard of him?"

"Probably because you're too busy sleeping on the job." Renee joked flatly. Zoey pretended not to hear that.

"But in all seriousness, Sonic has saved the world many times. And I also heard he's very friendly." Wesley added.

"Well...I guess you might be right on that." She said that, even though she has barely met this blue hedgehog.

"You should probably go check up on them." Eliot told her. "They might be ready to order."

"All right, fine. WHATEVER you say, boss." Of course, Zoey was only goofing around when she said that. But sometimes, she didn't like how Eliot was straight to the point on what she needed to do.

She arrived with a bright smile on her face. "So, are you ready to order?"

"Sure am." Tails smiled back. "Sonic, why don't you start?"

"Sure thing, buddy." Sonic glanced at the menu once more. "I'll have a chocolate ice cream dish with a strawberry on top."

It was Tails turn to make the next order. "I'll have some bananna cream pie, and also a milk shake. "

Then it was Cream to make the last order. "And I want a small Strawberry Shortcake, please."

Zoey very quickly wrote down the last bit of orders on her notepad before finishing up. "OK then! Your orders will be ready in about 15 minutes." She quickly said before she power-walked off to give the list of orders to Renee.

"She seems very hyper." Sonic noticed.

"Yeah. One moment she seemed out of it when she saw us, but then after that, she's back to herself again." Tails added.

"Maybe she thought we looked scary." Cream worried.

"Nah, not at all, Cream." Sonic smiled at her. "She probably was startled by our appearances."

"Probably." Tails thought that as well.

Looking at Zoey and the way she acted, she reminded him of Amy Rose in a way. The only difference is that at least Amy seemed more obsessive when it came to the blue hero. At least Zoey didn't seem to act like that, as far as he knew. Aside from a bit of awkwardness, she seemed like a funny and nice girl. Maybe he could get a chance to talk to her.

Zoey returned with the list of orders to Renee. As the famous model looked at the orders, Bridget joined with Zoey after finishing her round of checking tables.

"So Zoey, how did it go?" Bridget asked.

"I don't know." Zoey sighed. "It just feels really awkward talking to people that aren't humans."

"You seem to forget about the many encounters of Dren and the Cyniclons." Renee reminded her. "They aren't humans."

"Well, yeah, but still...it just seems weird, really."

"I understand what you mean, Zoey." Bridget said, as she finished her round of tables for the time being. "I never even heard of Sonic until after seeing some news reports about him defeating a giant water creature that flooded an entire city!"

Zoey sounded surprised. "Really?"

"And he also saved the world again by stopping Space Colony ARK that was going to crash down to Earth and destroy it." Renee added. It seemed odd for her to know something like this, but she is a big celebrity herself, so she gets news around whenever she's on her modeling tour.

Zoey seemed very surprised to hear this. Was he really that famous?

"You look jealous, Zoey." Corina teased in her natural way.

"I am not!" Zoey fired back, blushing. "I just...well, he does sounds like a big hero is he has saved the world multiple times. But I wonder if he is friendly?"

"Well, he seems friendly to me." Bridget said. "Why don't you go talk to him?"

Zoey had that nervous look again. "I-I'm pretty sure he's perfectly fine talking with his own friends."

"Oh, come on, Zoey." Corina said, as she finished her afternoon tea. "You're not scared of talking to a hedgehog, are you?"

"Me? Scared?" Zoey taunted with a fake laugh. "Please, that's total nonsense! I SO can talk to a hedgehog!"

"Then why don't you go over there and talk to him now?" Corina suggested.

"All right, then I will!" Zoey stated, as she walked over to Sonic's table.

Corina could watch and be amused by this. If only for the fact to see Zoey be completely at a lost for words and have no idea of what to say to Sonic.

Sonic, Tails, and Cream were having a good time themselves here at Cafe Mew Mew. Sonic was relaxing with his arms behind his head, while Cream and Tails were having a nice conversation with each other.

"So are you planning on taking some of the cake home to your mother?" Tails asked her.

"Uh-huh." Cream nodded. "She loves cake just as much as I do."

"Chao Chao!" Cheese said as well.

Zoey looked over to see Sonic relaxing himself. "Hey there."

Sonic turned his eye over to Zoey, who waved at him with a smile. "You're that waitress from earlier. Your name was Zoey, was it?"

"That's me. I'm sorry about earlier...I guess I wasn't really myself when I saw you and you friends come in." Zoey rubbed the back of her head in embarrasment.

Sonic was right in thinking that Zoey was shocked to see people that weren't humans entering Cafe Mew Mew. "It's not a problem."

"You don't mind if I sit with you guys for a bit?" Zoey offered.

"Sure thing." Sonic replied.

The red haired teenager sat down on an empty chair next to Sonic. "So...uh, what brings you and your friends here?"

"We heard about this place from one of the advertisment posters that Cream picked up." Tails briefly explained.

"I told my momma about this place and she said that I could go and bring my friends here as well." Cream said, showing the advertisment poster to Zoey.

"Wow." Zoey thought. I guess advertisements can reach just about anybody.

"So how about you? You like what you do here?" Sonic asked Zoey.

"Uh, yeah. I do." Zoey answered rather vaguely. If she told them the real reason why she worked here, it could possibly mean trouble. Plus with customers around, it wouldn't be a good idea to cause a stir. "Can I ask you a question, Sonic?"

"Shoot."

"So is it true that you are a big hero?" Zoey asked slowly.

"That's me." Sonic grinned. "I guess you must've heard of me."

"Actually...no. I haven't." Zoey shook her head. "This is the first time I've heard of you.

This almost took Sonic by surprise. This girl has never heard of the fastest thing alive up until now. That's something different. "Well, you're meeting him now. And it's great to meet you!"

Zoey didn't know what to say for a moment. She then started to smile and giggle a little. "Well, it's great to meet you, too."

"So where do you come from? I mean, where do you live?" Zoey asked, correcting her question.

"You mean like a home? I don't live anywhere. My friends have places, though. Tails has his workshop in the Mystic Ruins, and Cream here lives in a cottage in the woods with her mother."

"Don't forget about Cheese, Mr. Sonic." Cream added.

"Chao! Chao!" Chao waved his small hands.

"And Cheese, too." Sonic mentioned.

"So...you don't have a house of your own?" The red haired teenager asked.

"Nope." Sonic replied. "I usually am out running and seeking new adventures. Or it could be Dr. Egghead trying to seek his old plans of building his lame theme park of Eggmanland."

So this guy lives freely and can go anywhere he wants with his fast speed? That sounds awesome. She'd sure that Sonic must have an amazing life, then. Probably a lot better than her life, especially with what's happened with her recently that she's been trying to get over. Which made her sad on the inside just thinking about it.

"You there, Zoey?" Sonic looked at her like she was out of it.

"Hm? Oh, I'm fine! Really!" Zoey replied quickly. "Well, I better get back to work before I forget I'm at work. I'll be back shortly with your orders!" Zoey giving an adieu before leaving.

Sonic watched her go off. "Well, she seems like a nice girl. Odd, but nice."

"By 'odd', you mean the way she's silent for one moment?" Tails asked.

"Exactly, little buddy." Sonic replied.

Zoey was back at over at the restaurant counter and sighed. Bridget was the first one to notice.

"So how did it go?" Bridget asked.

"Well...it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Zoey admitted.

"What? Were you afraid you would be the silent cat and have nothing to say at all?" Corina teased.

"Of course not!" Zoey fired back before calming down. "I mean, talking to him...wasn't a bad idea at all. He seems like a very nice guy to talk too. And he's very friendly."

"That's awesome!" Bridget was glad to hear this. "What did you guys talk about?"

"Let's see...I asked him if he lived anywhere, like a house. But he said that he doesn't live anywhere. His friends have homes, though. Sonic says he's usually out running and looking for new adventures. Zoey explained.

"Really? That sounds like fun!" Bridget smiled.

"Yeah, Even I think so, too." Zoey nodded. "Imagine; running at super speed always out looking for new places to see and adventures to go on..." She sighed dreamily. "That would be totally awesome."

"Aside from the fact that you would get motion sickness after running very fast." Corina added teasingly.

Zoey pretended not to hear that. "Anyway, it does make me curious, though."

"What does?" Bridget asked.

"Well, if he's out on adventures most of the time, then I wonder if he's ever met someone that he has an interest in." Zoey wondered.

"An interest?" Bridget seemed confused. "You mean, like a love interest?"

"Uh...something like that." Zoey replied a little nervously.

"I don't know, honestly." Bridget replied. "Maybe he hasn't found one right now. Or he probably doesn't want one." She was only guessing though.

"Hmm..." Zoey had that curious look on her face. Maybe she was right. But then again, this only made her more curious.

"Aw, look. Zoey has a thing for that hunk of a hedgehog." Corina joked with a small laugh.

Perhaps that might've been out of character of her to say something like that, but it did make Zoey blush in embarassment. "WHAT? You're crazy, Corina! Why would you even think of something like that?"

"It's only a joke, Zoey. No need to take it seriously." Corina said, as she sipped her tea.

"Yeah, well it wasn't funny." Zoey remarked.

Renee's mind seemed to be swirling with an idea of mind. "Actually...that's not a bad idea."

"Huh?" Bridget tilted her head. "What is?"

"Zoey...perhaps you should ask Sonic out."

"W-What?" Zoey looked very surprised. "Renee? Why? Why would you even agree with Corina?"

"I never said that." Renee corrected her. "The reason why I'm suggesting this is because of two things." She used her fingers to count the two things she was about to explain. "Number one; It would give you a chance to get to know Sonic more. And number two; I think this would be your chance to get back into dating again."

"But Renee..." Zoey felt nervous. "I'm not sure if I want to go back to dating again."

Renee didn't seem affected by Zoey's words. "Well, I'll leave that up to you. But I will say that you can't keep thinking about what happened to you in the past. You know what I'm talking about."

Unfortunately, Zoey did know what Renee was talking about. She looked over at Sonic, whom was still relaxing. The short conversation she had with Sonic was pretty fun and she was definitely into what the blue blur had to say. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea.

"Orders for table 5 are ready, Zoey." Wesley called out.

Table 5? That was Sonic's table. Zoey went over to it and grabbed the food from the table before making her way towards Sonic's table.

As she did this, Bridget looked on and then back at Renee. "Renee? Are you sure that was a good idea?"

"Who knows? All I know is that if she wants to get back into dating again, this is the only way to do that." Renee answered.

"Wow, Renee...I didn't know you were so supportive of Zoey getting back into dating." Bridget realized.

"I wasn't really aiming for that." Renee admitted. "You remember what happened to her the last time she went out on a date?"

"Oh yeah...I remember." Bridget had a bit of a sad look on her face. "She said that she was done with dating for good and would never go back to it again."

"I think that going on a date with Sonic would help her get her condfidence back. Plus, she seemed interested in him so that's how I got the idea. And maybe a little bit of assistance from Corina." Renee added.

Bridget looked on at Zoey as she handed out the food to Sonic and his friends. I wonder if Zoey would go through this this?

* * *

**- Station Square; Present Day -**

Eventually, Zoey was able to ask Sonic out and the two worked something out and that's how it lead to this surprisingly great date. The two had a wonderful time on their first date and they were just about to start their second date.

Sonic was waiting patiently for his date as Zoey was talking to her friends back at Cafe Mew Mew on the phone. The blue blur stretched his arms out and yawned a little as he was relaxing his back against a wall.

"Sonic! Oh Sonic!"

This caught the attention of Sonic. He could recognize that voice coming from a mile away. He looked across to see someone approaching him at a fast pace.

The person turned out to be a pink hedgehog that was the same height as Sonic. She was wearing a red dress, red boots, white gloves, and also had a headband in her hair. It was Amy Rose. And she looked so happy to see Sonic when she finally caught up with him.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, Sonic!" Amy said to him.

"Huh? You have, Amy?" Sonic was confused.

"Uh-huh." She nodded. "And now that I have finally caught up with you, it's about time that you go on a date with me."

On any normal circumstances, this would be Sonic's chance to make a run for it. However, he was on a currently going on another date with Zoey Hanson. There wasn't much he could do except tell her the truth. "Listen Amy, I have to tell you something."

"Really? If it's important, then you can tell me while we're on our date." Amy said, as she grabbed his hand. "Now come on! Let's get going!"

"But Amy..." Sonic was standing as still as he could while Amy was struggling to pull him.

"Come on, Sonic! You can't run away from me forever!"

Zoey hung up the phone she was using and looked to see what the commotion was going on. She was confused when she saw a pink hedgehog pulling Sonic's arm. "Uh, excuse me?"

Amy stopped pulling as she and Sonic looked at the human girl. "Yes?"

"Pardon me for asking, but who are you?"

"Me? I'm Amy Rose! And I'm also Sonic's girlfriend."

Zoey was shocked to hear this. "W-What?"

"Amy!" Sonic was trying to tell her, buy Amy continued to interrupt him.

"I'm sorry if you had to see this, miss. I was looking for Sonic today because he and I were suppose to go on a date together." Amy explained in her happy fashion.

"S-Sonic?" Zoey was afraid to ask this. "Is...is this true?"

"No, it isn't!" Sonic replied back. "Amy is only-"

"Oh, stop lying to yourself, Sonic." Amy said, as she hugged him tightly. "You know that you and I only belong to together. And it's only a matter of time before we get married!"

Zoey was almost on the verge of tears when she heard this. Sonic was able to move Amy away from her so he could talk to Zoey.

"Zoey, I can explain! Honest!" Sonic said, trying to work this out.

"Stop it."

"Huh?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Just stop it, OK?" Zoey asked in a sad voice. "I'm tired of have my heart broken." She then had a look her face that even Sonic was almost afraid of. "I never want to see you again!"

She turned around and ran away. Sonic could see the tears flying out Zoey's eyes as they fell to the ground, obviously crying prior to the events of what she saw.

"Sonic? What's going on?" Amy asked. "Do you know that girl?"

Sonic turned towards Amy. "Yeah. She was my date. I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen!"

"Really...?" Amy was taken back by this.

Sonic decided to try and catch up with Zoey as he dashed off to find her, leaving Amy Rose behind.

The pink hedgehog lowered her head. A feeling of sadness and guilt took over, unaware of what she had done.

* * *

Zoey was at the entrance of the Station Square airport. She wiped away her tears, but it wasn't enough to see the redness in her eyes and tears still forming up in her face.

"I knew this was going to be a bad idea..." Zoey said to herself. She couldn't bear the fact that Sonic already had a girlfriend that she did not know about. She went inside the airport and decided to book a ticket back home.

At the ticket entrance, the young ticket woman looked at Zoey who approached her.

"One ticket back for Japan, please." Zoey said, as she laid down money on the counter in exchange for her ticket.

"Here you go." The woman smiled. "Your flight will leave in 20 minutes."

As she left the counter, she digged into her purse and find her cell phone. She flipped it open and decided to call someone back home. After waiting a couple of moments, she heard a response.

_"Hello? Zoey?"_

"Hey, Bridget." Zoey greeted, while still feeling down.

_"Are you OK, Zoey? You sound like you're about to cry."_

"No. I'm OK." Zoey smiled sadly. "Listen, I'm going to be coming home early."

_"Really? Why?"_

She paused, unsure if she wanted to tell her about what had happened. "I'll tell you when I get back. OK? ...All right, see you later."

Zoey hung up on her cell phone and put it back in her purse. Her face started to well up in tears again, but she quickly wiped them away. All that's left for her to do was to head off to her plane that would take her back home.

* * *

The blue hedgehog looked around, but Zoey was no where in sight. He tried calling her name and searched every road of Station Square. He asked anyone that he came across that saw a red-headed teenage human girl, but no one was able to help him.

"Darn it!" Sonic couldn't believe this had happened. "Zoey...where are you?"

He decided to try Twinkle Park, but before he could do that, he saw something on the ground a few feet away from him that caught his eye. Sonic went over to it and picked it up in his gloved hand.

"I wonder what this is?" Sonic wondered to himself, as he looked at the small golden bell with red ribbon attached to it. "Could this belong to Zoey?" He decided to keep it to himself for the time behing and dash off to try and look for her, unaware of that she was already gone for good.


	3. All I Want For Christmas Is You

******REOPEN YOUR HEART**

Chapter Three: All I Want For Christmas Is You

**- Cafe Mew Mew -**

Five months later. It was December and the holidays were right around the corner. Which also meant Christmas was almost here too. Everyone that was celebrating this holiday would be out getting presents for loved ones, singing Christmas carols, or just cozying around near the fireplace with their families and loved ones while drinking hot chocolate.

At Cafe Mew Mew, however, the girls were still working, even nearing the holidays. There were very few people coming here during this time of year and today was the last day the girls would be working before they could go home and spend the holidays with their friends and families.

Corina was still drinking her tea, as usual. Kikki was fiddling around the cash register, Renee went to deliver the empty dishes at the kitchen. And Bridget and Zoey were busy mopping the floors.

"You know, it's a lot easier whenever there aren't a lot of customers here, right, Zoey?" Bridget asked, smiling.

Zoey's head just looked down the floor while continuing to mop in the same floor area about a dozen times.

"Zoey?" Bridget called out.

"Huh?" Zoey's eyes snapped open when she looked at Bridget. "What did you say?"

"Nothing." Bridget shook her head. "I was just wondering how you were doing?"

"Oh. I'm fine." Zoey looked down at the floor again and began to mop elsewhere.

Bridget looked sad for her friend. Ever since Zoey told her about what happened with her second date with Sonic, Zoey hasn't been feeling like her normal self. She's been really quiet during work and the strange thing about this whole thing is that Zoey only told Bridget about what happened. She never told any of her other friends because she wanted for Bridget to keep it a secret so that drama about the situation wouldn't spread.

Corina was sipping her tea as she saw Zoey mopping near her table. "You missed a spot."

"Oh, OK." Zoey said very quietly.

Corina raised an eyebrow. "Well, this is new. Usually, you would argue you with me. What's up?"

"It's nothing. Nothing really." She smiled a little. "Don't worry about it."

Right then and there, Corina could tell something was wrong with Zoey just by looking at her eyes. The question now is should she ask her about what's been bothering her lately? She wasn't sure, but the way Zoey answered her sounded very calm and not like her usual self.

Corina was about to speak up to Zoey, but before she could do that, Kikki cut her off.

"Hey girls, we got a couple of customers here!" Kikki called out in excitement.

"I'll go get it!" Zoey called out before heading towards them.

The two customers were a young male and female teenager couple who were just going out and wanted to spend some Christmas time here at Cafe Mew Mew. The two were greeted by the red-head waitress; Zoey.

"Hi there! I'm Zoey Hanson and welcome to Cafe Mew Mew. I will be your..." She then suddenly stops in mid-sentence when she stares at the young couple.

Instead of seeing the young couple, however, they were replaced by Sonic and his friends. Seeing them all reminded her about their first encounter all those months ago. When she looked at Sonic's eyes, however, it made her almost cry inside.

Zoey let out a frustrated yell as she ran past her friends and towards the back room.

That outburst just now left the girls speechless. What was anyone suppose to say?

"Um..." The young female called out. "Is this a bad time to come here?"

"No, no! Not at all!" Bridget replied, trying to put on a straight face. "Hello, I am Bridget Verdant! And I will be your waitress today."

As Bridget tried to persuade the young couple to stay, the other girls gathered around each other after witnessing what just happened moments ago regarding Zoey's outburst.

"What happened just now?" Kikki wondered. "Zoey completely lost it."

"I'm not certain. But if I had to guess, it probably has something to do involving her date with Sonic." Corina believed.

"Really?! You sure?" Kikki asked.

"I didn't realize it at first, but when Zoey smiled weakly at me, I knew something was wrong." Corina thought.

"Then let's go find her, then! Maybe we can ask her and see if we can help her." Kikki proclaimed proudly.

"Right. Zoey should be in one of the back rooms. Let's go find her." Renee told the girls, as they followed the purple-haired human.

* * *

Zoey was sitting down at a table, sobbing really quietly. She was hoping that she would finally get Sonic out of her system...but for some reason, the blue hedgehog's image kept popping back in her mind when Zoey least expected it. What is it about Sonic that keeps coming back to her?

The three girls quietly peeked inside the room to see Zoey in her sad state.

Kikki knocked on the door to get her attention. "Zoey?"

"Go away!" Zoey yelled out.

"Come on, Zoey!" Kikki replied back. "We want to help you out!"

"Why? You wouldn't understand."

"We wouldn't understand, unless if you tell us what's wrong." Corina noted.

Zoey wanted to talk about it. But she was afraid about the girls reactions if she told them. Bridget is the only one who knows, so why tell the others about it?

Renee had an idea about what was going on. Thing is, she didn't really have any proof about it. So instead, she would have to try a different approach. "Zoey, why don't you take the rest of the holiday off?"

"Huh?" Zoey seemed confused by Reene's suggestion. "Why?"

"You seem to be going through a lot of stress lately. Even to certain points where you are overworking yourself." Renee bringing up. "I'll talk to Eliot about this and see what he can do."

Zoey wanted to speak out, but now that she thought about it, maybe this was a good idea for her. Not only to get away from work, but to also to get that certain 'someone' out of her mind.

"I'll take that silence as an agreement." Renee noted, as she went out to go talk to Eliot.

Corina and Kikki watched as Zoey laid her chin on her hand as she looked out the window. The look on her face pretty much told the story. This was affecting her greatly. Even though they didn't know what was going on with Zoey, they felt really sorry for her.

"Come on, Kikki. Let's go." Corina whispered.

"But why?" Kikki wondered. "Can't we help her?"

"I think this is one problem that Zoey has to go through on her own."

Kikki wasn't sure what to think about this. She looked back at Zoey for another moment until Corina pulled her by the arm until she and Kikki were gone.

Zoey sighed and looked straight forward at the window again. Zoey's mind clouded with despair and sadness. She could only hope that this holiday vacation would help her get through this mess.

* * *

Hours later, Zoey was at home in her bedroom after getting off work. Eliot gave the word that she could take the rest of the Holiday off to get her thoughts straight. She was laying face up on her bed looking at the ceiling with a blank stare.

_"There must be something I can do to pass the time..."_

She turned to her small desk to her purse and went to reach for it. She pulled towards her and opened it to pull out whatever she could find inside. The first thing she pulled out were the pictures of Sonic she took at Twinkle Park.

She had to admit, seeing these pictures again made her smile. It reminded her how much of a good time the two there. The goofy faces Sonic made did make Zoey laugh a little as she looked at each picture.

Zoey set down small pack of pictures on her desk and turned to her side to see the Chao doll that Sonic bought for her. She hugged it close to her as she nearly closed her eyes.

Why can't I get him out of my mind? That's the question that's been on Zoey's mind in the last few months.

"Zoey! Dinner's ready!" Her mom called out from outside her door. She peeked it opened to see Zoey, whom was laying on her side. "Zoey?"

"I'm not hungry, Mom." Zoey called back rather sadly.

Zoey's mother peeked open the door to see her daughter sounding really sad. "What's the matter, Zoey? Are you sick?"

"No, Mom. I'm just tired."

"Oh. Well, if you change your mind, there's steak for you."

The thought of steak entering Zoey's mind was very tempting. She hadn't eaten anything since coming home.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Zoey?"

Zoey sat up and looked at her mother's eyes. "I need some advice about something."

"Sure, honey!" Zoey's mother smiled. "What is it?"

"Um..." Zoey panicked, trying to figure out how to ask her mother this without having a nervous breakdown. "Let's pretend that a girl went out with a guy she knew...and these two only went out for one day."

"Uh-huh..." Her mother nodded.

"So they go out on a second date the next day. And before they do, the girl needs to make an important call on her cell phone."

"Go on..."

"So as the guy waits for her, another girl approaches the guy and she talks to him for a bit before hugging him. And when his date notices this...she freaks out and the other girl tells her that she and him are really boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Uh-huh...I think I know what you're talking about..."

"But the girl that was originally going out with the guy is upset because he didn't tell her about this and she still thinks about him, even after they break up. So what does she do?"

"Well...if I were the girl that was going out with the guy first, I would probably talk to him as a friend and see how he is doing."

Zoey wasn't sure how to respond to that. "But isn't that easier said than done?"

"Well, I'm not sure because I've never experienced anything like that with your father." Zoey's mother said. "Well, I'm going to go back downstairs and finish dinner. Come down anytime if you change your mind."

As Zoey's mother quietly closed the door, Zoey turned on the bed and looked straight up at the ceiling while holding the Chao doll close to her. She didn't really think that her mother's advice helped her a lot. To be fair, she didn't really blame her mother because she didn't seem sure herself. But it only made things a little more complicating than usual.

* * *

Early next day, Zoey was outside on this cold, snowy day of Japan. Zoey was wearing a read leather coat, pink soft pants, brown boots, red mittons, a white scarf, and a red snowcap. The young girl was near the park where she could see most of the play sets there frozen, including a small pond, where the water there was also frozen, but was replaced with people, both kids and young teenagers ice skating to thier delight.

Zoey went over to a nearby bench and sat down. She watched the people ice skating, as one girl in her mid-teens making a figure eight with a guy around her age skating around it.

Looking at it, Zoey never really saw herself ice-skating. She would probably fall down on her butt many times and probably skate off crashing into the white snow. Although if she had someone who was experienced in ice skating, she would probably get the hang of it.

The only person that came to her mind, though, was "him". She wasn't even sure if he ever ice-skated in his life. She guess thinking about it wasn't really going to help her though.

She continued to watch people ice-skate until someone tapped her on her shoulder. She turned to see who it was.

"Hey, Zoey!" Bridget smiled.

"Oh, hey Bridget." Zoey smiled a little. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw you walking towards the park. I thought maybe catch up with you to see how you were doing." Bridget responded.

"Oh, nothing much. Just thought I would go out for a walk." Zoey replied.

"You don't mind if I sit beside you?"

"No. Not at all."

Bridget gladly joined with Zoey as she sat down next to her.

"So, why aren't you working at Cafe Mew Mew?" Zoey wondered.

"Well, after what happened yesterday, Eliot decided to give the rest of us the holiday off. So we're free like you are." Bridget explained.

"Oh...I see." Zoey knew what Bridget meant by what happened yesterday.

"Hey, Zoey...I'm sorry about what happened." Bridget apologized, being a little serious for a moment.

"No, Bridget. It's not your fault. I should've never reacted the way I did. I just don't know why I can't get him out of my mind."

"You mean Sonic?" Bridget asked curiously.

"Could you not bring up his name, please?" Zoey asked seriously.

"Oh...I'm sorry." Bridget responded quietly.

The two stayed silent for a long moment as they continued to watch the people ice-skating. At that time, Bridget was trying to think of a new topic without turning this conversation silent.

"So what are you going to do for Christmas this year, Zoey?" Bridget asked.

"I don't know." Zoey sighed. "I might as well spend it with my parents again this year."

"You don't sound very excited about it." Bridget noticed.

"Not really. Every year they have this Christmas party that, well...let's just say it's really embarrasing."

"Oh. I thought a Christmas party would sound great." The green haired Mew Mew thought.

"Yeah, well...to me, their version of a Christmas party is not something I would call 'exciting'." Zoey said, not wanting to think about it.

Bridget smiled softly. Her guess would probably think that Zoey would have to wear a goofy costume or something.

"I want to do something else, though, besides having another embarrasing Christmas party this year with my parents." Zoey expressed.

"Have you talked to you them about wanting to do something else?" Bridget asked.

"Yeah, but they always seem intent on going with these ridiculous Christmas parties, that I just want to get away from it for at least this year." Zoey siged.

Bridget could understand what Zoey was going through right now. Upoing thinking about this, something came into her mind. "Oh, I almost forgot!"

"What?" Zoey wondered.

Bridget pulled out something from inside her coat pocket. It was a small green box with red ribbon around the sides. "Merry Christmas, Zoey!"

Zoey looked at it to see a small tag which said...

To Zoey Hanson. From Bridget Verdant.

Zoey smiled when she received the box from Bridget. "Thanks, Bridget!"

"Go ahead. Open it!" Bridget smiled.

Zoey removed the top of the small box to reveal a ticket. This confused Zoey at first, that was, until she read the contents of the ticket. "Wait a minute...this is..."

The ticket revealed to be an Airplace ticket. It's destination was set for Station Square. Zoey awed in surprise.

"I knew that you still couldn't forget about him, so I thought why not go see him?"

Zoey didn't know what to make of this. "Bridget...I don't know if I can accept this." Her eyes lowered. "I mean, you don't have to go through the trouble of doing this."

Bridget frowned. "Oh, well...about that ticket."

"Huh? What about it?" Zoey tilted her head.

"Renee bought it for you. Not me."

Zoey froze. Renee bought the ticket for her?

"Zoey, I have to tell you something. Renee knows about this."

"She does?" Zoey looked at Bridget's eyes.

"Yes. After what happened yesterday, Renee asked me about the date with Sonic...and I eventually told her about what happened between you and him."

Zoey didn't say anything. She just lowered her eyes at the ticket.

"I know you wanted me to keep it a secret. It looks like Renee knew about it in a short amount of time." Bridget felt guilty.

"It's not your fault, Bridget. I know you did your best to keep the secret hidden." Zoey said, not wanting to make Bridget sad. "I know Renee is a smart woman, so I guess it was a matter of time before she caught on."

Bridget felt relieved and smiled in appreciation.

"But I have to wonder...why did she buy the ticket and send it as a gift from you to me?" Zoey wondered.

"Well, when I told her about what happened between you and Sonic, she thinks that there was more to it. So she bought the ticket and so that you could go see him again."

Zoey stayed silent as she looked at the ticket again. "I don't know, Bridget. I told him straight to his face that I never wanted to see him again. What if he doesn't want to see me?"

"I'm sure he would love to see you again." Bridget smiled. "Besides, would you rather spend another Christmas party with your parents?"

Now that she thought about it, maybe this was one year that she could get away from a ridiculous Christmas party. She stood up from the bench the same time as Bridget did. Before Bridget could do anything, Zoey hugged Bridget tightly, which caught Bridget by surprise.

"Thank you, Bridget." Zoey whispered before letting go.

"But Renee was the one that bought the ticket..." Bridget brought up again.

"I know. But if it weren't for you delivering it, I would have never known about it." Zoey smiled.

"Oh...well, you're welcome, Zoey." Bridget smiled warmly.

"So when does the plane ride to Station Square leave?"

"Oh, that. I almost forgot. I believe it leaves in less than two hours."

"Good." Zoey nodded. She then ran off.

"Where are you going, Zoey?!" Bridget asked.

"I'm going to the airport! Tell Renee I said thanks!" Zoey waved back before heading off into the distance.

Bridget watched Zoey go. "It looks like it's working. Thank you, Renee."

* * *

- **Station Square -**

It was one night later when the airplace landed at it's destination as Zoey Hanson exited the doors of the airport and into Station Square. When she arrived, she could see a bunch of Christmas lights decorated on top of every door of in the city. Along with wreaths, small Christmas trees inside shops, restaurants, etc. Everyone was getting into the Christmas cheer.

Well, everyone except Zoey. She looked around the city through the crowd of people. Some of them were going out to buy last minute Christmas presents for their families, while some went out just for a night of the Christmas town.

"Sonic!" Zoey called out. "Sonic!"

She looked all over the area of Station Square she was in, but no luck. Maybe he is at the Emeral Coast Hotel? She quickly ran off to the hotel to check there.

The side doors automatically opening themselves, Zoey went inside and went towards the person behind the counter.

"Hello, miss. How may I help you?" The hotel girl asked.

"Yes, um, have you seen a blue hedgehog come by here?"

"You mean Sonic? No, I'm sorry. He hasn't come by here."

"Oh..." Zoey felt disappointed.

"Would you like to rent a hotel? Special holiday price off!"

"No, thank you. I'll be going." Zoey said slowly as she headed out of the hotel.

The red-head girl sighed as she exited the Emeral Coast Hotel. Even though it was still very early for her since she's gotten here. She felt like giving up.

But of course, she wasn't going to give up yet, as she continued further down Station Square. The next place area she was going to check was around Casinopolis. She remembered that was the place that she and Sonic were going to go to on their second date together. It was hunch, and she was going to go with it.

She continued to walk on the sidewalk as she passed by people. That was when she was about to pass by the small Hamburger Shop. She looked inside the window to see a few people inside as they enjoyed themselves to a nice meal filled with warm burgers, fries, and cold sodas.

Zoey mouth was starting to water on the inside. "Mmm...I sure could go for a delicious burger." She continued to look inside the Hambuger Shop, until she saw something inside that made her eyes widen in surprise.

Sitting on one of the leather seats was Amy Rose. It looked as if she was sitting by herself.

Amy was sitting patiently as she gently set her menu down. Behind her, the doors opened as the red-headed teenager went over towards Amy's table.

"Hi!"

Amy looked up to see Zoey Hanson waving at her with her purse hanging by her side. "Oh, I know you! You're that girl..."

"Yeah. Kinda embarrasing, I know. Running into each other here and everything." Zoey cracked a chuckle.

"No, not at all." Amy shook her head. "I actually wanted to talk to you."

"Really?" Zoey sounded curious.

"Mm-hm." Amy nodded. "Come have a seat. I could use some company."

Zoey sat down as a waitress came by with a notepad and pen in her hands. She noticed the red-haired teenager that just came by.

"Is this your friend?" The waitress asked the pink hedgehog.

"Yeah. She is." Amy smiled. "We're eating together."

"Hi. I'm Zoey Hanson." The teenager introduced.

"Hello." The waitress greeted warmly. "So can I get you girls anything to eat?"

Amy went first. "I would like a cheeseburger, some fries, and a soda."

"OK." The waitress took notes of Amy's order. She then turned to Zoey. "And how about you?"

"Um...I'll have what she's having." Zoey replied.

"All right." The waitress took notes of this. "It will be ready in about 10 minutes."

The waitress then took off as Zoey and Amy were left alone.

"So what brings you here to Station Square?" Amy asked casually.

"Oh, well, I was thinking about spending Christmas here this year." Zoey replied.

"Really? What about your parents? Are they here, too?"

"No. I'm by myself." Zoey smiled.

"Really? So you're not spending Christmas with your parents this year?"

"Well...the thing is, every year, they hold this Christmas party." Zoey began to explain again. "Which sounds fun at first, but it turns really ridiculous and embarrasing, and I just wanted to get away from it for this year." Thank you Bridget Verdant and Renee Roberts.

"Oh. I see..." Amy tilted her head a bit in confusion.

"So what are you going to do for Christmas this year?" Zoey asked.

"I'm probably going to spend it over at Tails' Workshop. He's having a small party there along with some friends."

"Friends?"

"Let me see...there's Knuckles, Cream, Cheese, the Chaotix, Big, maybe Shadow and Rouge if they decide to show up..."

Zoey was nervous about bringing up one particular name. "What about, Sonic?"

Amy was silent. Zoey probably thought she upset Amy when she brought up Sonic's name.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you! I was just curious, that's all." Zoey lowered her head in shame.

"No." Amy shook her head. "It's not your fault. You see, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Huh? What about Sonic?" Zoey wondered.

Amy lowered her head in shame. "I'm the one who should apologize."

Zoey was silent as Amy began to talk.

"That day, five months ago, I was searching for Sonic to see if he was around Station Square. When I found him, I knew that it was my chance to finally ask him out. When first I saw you, I thought you were just a regular person just talking on the phone. And then I saw you crying...I honestly didn't know what was going on. And when Sonic told me about how you were his date...I was confused. I felt like 'how could Sonic already have a date?'."

Zoey was at a loss for words. What was she suppose to say?

"The day after that, I felt horrible. I broke up a date that I never knew about. And I hardly ever saw Sonic since then."

"D-Did you ever apologize to him?"

"Yeah. I forgave him and he accepted my apology. But that's all I've ever heard from him."

Zoey was relieved to hear that. But not hearing from Sonic since then? That's odd.

"Zoey, I have to apologize for what I've done. I'm really sorry I broke up your date with Sonic. Can you ever forgive me?"

Zoey looked into the pink hedgehog's green eyes. She was really being honest in her apology. Zoey smiled. "Yes. I forgive you."

Amy smiled slowly when Zoey accepted her apology. "Thank you. Now I can let go of all the stress I've held in the past few months."

And on that note, the waitress came by with two trays of food and sodas in her hands. She set the trays down on each side of their table.

"Here you go. Two sets of cheeseburgers, fries, and sodas."

"Thanks." The two girls said at the same time.

"Well then, enjoy your evening. The waitress smiled as she left the two girls to themselves.

Zoey took a hold of her burger in her hands. "There is one thing, though."

"What is it?" Amy wondered.

"You mentioned earlier that this was your chance to ask Sonic out. How long have you known him?"

When Amy heard the questioned, she smiled sweety. "Since when he first saved me many years ago."

"Really?" Zoey was surprised to hear this before taking a bite out of her burger.

"Yeah. I should probably tell you a little about myself and how much I know Sonic."

The two talked for minutes while they ate. Amy talked about how Sonic first saved her back when Dr. Eggman had a hold of Little Planet and how Metal Sonic captured her. And of how she began to follow Sonic wherever he went. She talked about a couple of adventures she was on with Sonic. Like the time Chaos flooded Station Square and it was up to Super Sonic to save the world from the water creature, and even the time where she mistakened Sonic with Shadow because they both looked identical to each other, despite they were completely different colors. She even brought up certain points about how she almost caught him into going out with her, but always came up short whenever he began to run away from her.

"Wow!" Zoey was amazed by this, as she took a sip from her soda. "You've been after him for a long time."

"Uh-huh." Amy nodded, as she also took a sip from her soda as well.

"It sounds like Sonic doesn't want to be tied down to a relationship, though." Zoey thought.

"Yeah." Amy frowned. "But I'm not sure about that now."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Zoey wondered.

"Well, I'm not entirely certain, but I don't think Sonic has been himself since that day."

"Really?" Zoey wondered. "How do you know?"

"I talked to Tails about what happened, and he hasn't seen Sonic lately. Neither has Knuckles or anyone I've talked too."

Zoey lowered her head. "This must be really affecting him."

"It's effected all three of us." Amy dully noted. "And I think he really misses you."

That last line by Amy really tugged at Zoey's heart. She wondered if that was really true?

"Where do you think Sonic might be now?" Zoey asked.

"I don't know. Why don't you try White Park Zone?" Amy suggested.

"White Park Zone?"

Amy nodded. "It's a winter park where

"OK." Zoey got up from her seat. "What about you, though?"

"I'll stay here a little while longer." Amy said, as she smiled warmly. "You go and find Sonic. I'm sure he would love to see you."

Zoey smiled back as she nodded slowly. "Thank you. It was great meeting you." She said, as she walked towards the doors and exited the restaurant.

Amy watched as Zoey was outside the window. Zoey waved at Amy, to which the pink hedgehog responded with the same response, before Zoey took off to find Sonic.

After she was gone, the pink hedgehog turned to the waitress. "I would like some desert, please!"

* * *

**- White Park Zone -**

White Park Zone was pretty much what it was.; a beautiful park filled with white snow. But it also was a large park that looked similar to Twinkle Park, only in winter. There was a carousel, a large roller coaster which was much bigger than the one at Twinkle Park, it was just a very Christmas themed park. A lot of people were here either to have fun on the rides, spending time with their friends, loved ones, whatever Christmas joy you could think of.

Zoey herself was astonished by how gorgeous the place look. This was just like a Christmas dream come true. As much as she liked to ride all the rides, she had a misson of her own to look for Sonic.

She looked all over the place as she checked every ride and booth she passed by. She even asked a lot of people to see if they have seen a blue hedgehog, but all of them said no.

After like what seemed like hours for her, which it really was only 15 minutes, she started to sigh as if she wanted to give up. But she looked ahead only for her to gasp as she covered her mouth.

There was a giant Christmas tree standing in the middle of White Park Zone. It was filled with what you would expect of a decoreated Christmas tree. Different colored lights, ornaments, wreaths, and atop the tree was the brightest yellow star that she could only imagine.

"It's so pretty..." Zoey's eyes sparkled brightly.

She looked at her surroundings to see people around the tree in seperate places. Most of them were young couples around in their mid-to-late teens as they stood or sat around on benches around the tree handing presents to each other or just looking at the beautiful Christmas tree.

Zoey continued to look on until she saw someone that made her eyes widen.

A blue spiky hedgehog was sitting down on the bench. It watched the Christmas tree glow brightly, shining across White Park Zone.

Could it be him? Zoey had to know. "Sonic!"

Sonic turned his head to see Zoey waving at him from across where he sitting. Coud he be imagining things or was that really her?

"Zoey?" Sonic was surprised to see her. And here of all places. His green emerald eyes brightened as he waved "Hey! Zoey! Over here!"

Zoey ran towards him as fast as she could until she finally reached his side. She then breathed a sigh of relief.

"I finally found you. I thought you weren't here and I was about to check somewhere else..."

"You were looking...for me?" Sonic sounded surprised.

"Uh-huh." Zoey nodded, as she took a seat on the bench next to Sonic.

"How did you know where to find me?" Sonic asked.

"Amy told me. She guessed that you were here, and she was right." Zoey smiled.

"Amy...?" Amy knew where he was. I guess that maybe that's just the inner-fangirl spirit inside her that knew where he was.

Zoey lowered her head. "Sonic. I want to apologize."

"Apologize for what?"

She took his gloved hands into her own. "I'm sorry about what happened five months ago. I didn't listen to you when Amy was around you that day proclaiming that you were 'together'. I thought she was right and you were dating someone else without me noticing." Zoey's eyes closed a little as tears covered her eyes. "I was wrong then, when I met Amy earlier tonight and she told me about that day, what really happened, and about how she was always following you around. And I came back to you tell that...I'm really, really sorry."

Sonic couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Amy told you everything."

"Yeah. She told me everything. You're not...mad at her, are you?" Zoey wondered curiously.

"Nah." Sonic shook his head. "I can't stay mad at Amy forever. I'll talk to her again soon."

That was good that there wasn't any tension between the two.

Sonic looked back up at the Christmas tree. "You know, this is probably the biggest Christmas tree I've ever seen."

"Yeah." Zoey nodded. "It's so pretty, that I bet it could just attract about anyone to a place like this."

Sonic turned glanced his eyes over at Zoey, who continued watching the Christmas tree. "Hey, Zoey?"

Zoey turned to look at Sonic. "What is it, Sonic?"

"There's been something on my mind that I wanted to know. Back on that day, you said that 'you were tired of having your heart broken'. What did you mean by that?"

Zoey was silent for a moment. This is something that Renee warned her about from before. "Sonic. There's something you need to know about me."

"About what? How you're a super hero? I knew that." Sonic grinned.

"No. Not that." Zoey shook her head. "Something else." She sighed deeply before speaking. "There was this guy named Mark who I had a crush on. We never officially went out as boyfriend and girlfriend, but we grew closer together as we went out more and more. Then one day, Mark moved to France. He was originally going to just stay there during the summer before moving back."

"What happened?" Sonic wondered.

"Well, I got a call a couple of weeks after he got to France. He told me that he met someone. A girl. A french girl who he met and said that they were going out together."

"How did you take the news?"

"Well, I was upset deep inside, but I never said or told Mark that. Instead I just said 'Well, I wish you both the best of luck together'. And that's the last time I talked to him."

Sonic felt sorry for Zoey to go through that. "What about Mark? Is he still staying in France?"

"Yeah. He said he was going to stay over there at least until the holidays." Zoey replied.

"So that's why you...never said you wanted to date again? Because it would end up in some similar way?"

Zoey stayed silent and nodded her head in response. Sonic looked at her eyes and could see that tears almost began to pour down her face. He could tell that she was still hurt by this because it was the first guy she had ever fallen for.

Even he wasn't really sure why, Sonic almost felt like he wanted to kiss Zoey. It was a strange a new feeling that came over him, but he wasn't sure if he could do it.

Instead, Sonic cuddled next to Zoey, which the red-head teenager took acceptance as she held Sonic's glove hand with her gloved hand.

"Zoey?"

"Hm?" Zoey looked into his eyes.

"There's something that I wanted to give you. I had to wait a long time, but..." Sonic grabbed something from an unseen pocket of his and showed it to Zoey. It turned out to be a small blue with yellow ribbon on top of it. "Merry Christmas, Zoey!"

"This is for me?" Zoey giggled when she accepted the box.

"Sure is." Sonic grinned. "Open it."

And Zoey did just that. She removed the top of the box...but when she did that, she gasped and covered her mouth in shock. "This is..."

"Surprised?" Sonic knew that Zoey would be surprised about her present.

Zoey lifted the gift, which actually was a golden bell that Sonic found. "My golden bell..."

"I found it when you suddenly left back home, so I held on to it just in case." Sonic explained.

Zoey couldn't believe it. Her golden bell was lost all this time and Sonic held on to it for her. She almost cried while smiling. "Thank you, Sonic..."

"Let me get that for you." Sonic said, as he took the ribbon of the bell and gently wrapped it around Zoey's neck with a single knot.

Zoey turned around as she and Sonic were now face to face, only a little closer than usual. Zoey's cheeks suddenly turned bright red.

"Zoey. I need to tell you something."

Zoey only listened to what Sonic was going to say.

"Ever since you left so suddenly, I felt like I was lost and all I could do was keep running. That was all I could think about. I thought about my friends, too. But I also felt like something else was missing inside me. I didn't know what it was, exactly, but I wanted our date to be like something it is now."

"So you're saying your in love with me?"

Sonic's heart skipped a beat when Zoey brought up the word 'love'. "Uh...where did you get that idea?"

"Come on, it's really obvious." Zoey smiled warmly.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not use to saying something like this." Sonic admitted embarrasingly.

"It's all right." Zoey reassured him. "I'm in love with you, too."

That was it. Sonic had no way out of this one. She was open and honest about it. The blue hedgehog lowered his head as he blushed red.

"Well, I can certainly say I can't disagree with you."

Their eyes closed slowly as Zoey hugged Sonic warmly. Sonic did the same thing, as he rubbed Zoey's back. The Mew Mew leader then started to rub Sonic's head with her warm mitten-wearing hand, while Sonic placed his glove hand on the left side of Zoey's face and rubbed that as well.

"So how long are you planning to stay?" He asked.

"Maybe until the holidays are over..." She whispered.

"In that case, how about you spend the rest of the time here? We can go some place warmer." Sonic suggested as his eyes started to close and his lips moving closer to Zoey's.

"As long I'm with you, I don't care where I'm at..." Zoey's eyes closed as she moved closer to Sonic's moving lips.

And then...love began to blossom as Sonic and Zoey kissed each other for the first time. The two continued to kiss as it was truly a Merry Christmas indeed. The night was still young for both of them, so let's leave the young couple alone.


End file.
